CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1952/01/22

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 02623664
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: May 24, 2019
• Document Release Date: May 30, 2019
• Publication Date: January 22, 1952

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SEC INFORMATION
22 January 1952
Copy No. 4 9
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO
NO CHANGE IN CLASS,
DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS 44 �
NEXT REVIEW DATE:
AUTI-ifkl-IRiko-
DAT E 10( 1.1roJEW ER :
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SUMMARY
FAR EAST
� French forces in Tonkin are severely pressed (page 3).
. Karens may abandon demand for separate state in Burma (page 3).
SOUTH ASIA
3. Pakistan expresses interest in Middle East Command (page 4).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
4. Suez Canal Company expects Egypt's assistance in preventing future
strikes (page 5).
EASTERN EUROPE
5. Local political groups in Trieste clamor for elections (page 6).
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FAR EAST
1. French forces in Tonkin are severely pressed:
The US Military Attache at Hanoi states it 3.3(h)(2)
is "very doubtful" that the military picture
in Tonkin is as promising as the French
publicly assert. The Viet Minh strategy of
constant attacks against new points on the defense perimeter is tiring
French troops by forcing them to make continual countermove. The
French are losing experienced and well-armed soldiers, while the Viet
Minh is holding its best troops in reserve and committing only ill-eqktipped,
untrained conscripts.
The attache concludes that the "best French
hope" at the moment is for the Viet Minh soon to cease general operations
in order to recuperate and supply.
Comment: An American official, just re-
,
t4rned from the southern delta region within tie defense perimeter, reports
that the entire area is being infiltrated by Viet Minh forces, with only four
towns securely held by the French. Announcements over the past weekend
by the French that they are conducting an offensive in that areit appear there-
fore to be misleading; actually, the operation has more the complexion of
a defensive action involving troops badly needed plsewhere.
2. Karens may abandon demand for separate state in Burma:
A spokesman for the Karen Congress, an
organization composed of Karens in legal
opposition to the Burmese Government, re-
portedly stated that the insurgent Karens will
not insist upon the establishment of a separate state. They will, however,
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demand that Karens who have been imprisoned or discharged from military
or civil positions for political reasons be released or reinstated, and
that Karens be guaranteed minority rights throughout Burma, including
the right to their own educational system and equal commercial opportuni-
ties with Burmans.
Comment: The Karen Congress has been
in constant touch with the insurgent Karens and it is plausible that this
group would be utilized as an intermediary to transmit any offer by the
insurgents to the government.
This report, if true, represents a consider-
able concession on the part of the Karens who have heretofore been in-
transigent in their demand for a separate state. Moreover, the reported
concession is being offered at a time when the Burmese Communists have
been holding out to the Karens the promise of such a state.
SOUTH ASIA
3. Pakistan expresses interest in Middle East Command:
Pakistan and Turkey are the two cornerstones
upon which the proposed Middle East Command
should rest. This statement was made by
Pakistani Foreign Minister Zafrullah Khan to
the French Ambassador in Karachi during a
discussion of mutual problems. The Foreign Minister said further that
Pakistan would agree to take part in a mutual defense plan for the area only
if promised assistance in the event of threatening moves by India-or if "forces
from the north" were overwhelming.
Zafrullah also stated that instead of participation
in the proposed Middle Ea4st Command, Egypt should have been offered
custody of the Suez Canal with arrangements for its international defense,
in which Pakistani troops would participate.
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Comment: Similar statements were voiced
by another Pakistani Cabinet member last September. While the Western
defense proposals have not been completely defined, there has been some
discussion between the United States and Great Britain of an approach to
Pakistan regarding membership in the proposed Middle East Command.
Pakistan has indicated that its cooperation with the West would be in-
creased if a satisfactory solution of the Kashmir issue could be arranged.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
4. Suez Canal Company expects Egypt's assistance in preventing future strikes:
Francois Charles-Roux, Chairman of the
Suez Canal Company, has expressed his
satisfaction over the reception he recently
received from the Egyptian Prime Minister,
the Minister of Interior, and the chief of King
Farouk's Palace cabinet.
The Chairman explained to the Egyptian
officials that his company, which is not implicated in the Anglo-Egyptian
conflict, is interested solely in ensuring the uninterrupted continuation of
all shipping traffic through the Suez Canal. He also stated that, since
this policy is to Egypt's interest, he expected the Egyptian Government to
render all possible assistance in preventing strikes by Egyptian laborers.
The Prime Minister assured him that he realized
the importance of the unrestricted operation of the Suez Canal and that he
believed that Egypt should offer the canal company as much aid as possible in
preventing future work stoppages.
Comment: The US Embassy in Cairo pre-
viously reported the concern felt by Sifez Canal Company officials over the brief
labor strikes of the past two weeks. While relations between the Egyptian
Government and the company are cordial at present, it will be increasingly
difficult for the company to avoid indirect involvement in the Anglo-Egyptian
dispute, since Egyptian personnel may strike again as a protest, not against
any company actions, but against the participation of the British authorities
in operating the canal.
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EASTERN EUROPE
5. Local political groups in Trieste clamor for elections:
All parties favoring an independent Trieste, 3.3(h)(2)
including the Cominformists and the pro-
Tito groups, are clamoring for communal
elections in Trieste, according to the American
Political Adviser. He states that pro-Italian groups are voicing no obc-
tionsto an election, and that consequently there seems to be no legitimate
local basis for the Allied Military Government to persist in its refusal to
set an election date.
Comment: Last October the Military Govern-
ment postponed communal elections until 1952 at the request of the Italian
Government, in order to provide a proper atmosphere for possible Yugoslav-
Italian negotiations on the Trieste issue. In the absence of any firm prospect
for an early Yugoslav-Italian accord, the Military Government has no justi-
fication for further postponement.
With Italian national and local elections im-
pending, the Italian Government is particularly anxious to avoid risking
further weakening of its position by a poor showing of the Italian parties in
Trieste.
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